Treasured Uplands, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Bainbridge

FRAN Graham’s stylised linocuts of upland flora in the Yorkshire Dales owe as much to her work as a scientist as to her early training as an artist.

From studying at Glasgow School of Art, her career path took an unusual turn – for ten years she has worked as an ecologist with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

Now, in the foyer of its headquarters in Bainbridge, which the authority makes available as gallery space for local artists (sometimes their own), the two sides of her nature, artist and scientist, combine in this first exhibition of her work.

As a scientist, her interest is in mapping and conserving the rare and often threatened plant species which might otherwise be lost to future generations. As an artist she sees the value in depicting the beauty of what she calls these “hidden gems.”

Mosses and ferns, bluebells and juniper, rock-rose and wild thyme, all in their season, are beautifully drawn and almost poetically captioned.

“In July, calcareous grasslands like these at Southerscales are stunning, and the air is filled with the scent of wild thyme. Here I have stylised rock-rose . . . hoary plantain and spring sedge,” she writes.

She captures an enormous variety of plants whose existence many may hardly be aware of: “The wild flowers at Grass Woods [the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust nature reserve near Grassington] in May are enchanting to little kids and big kids alike. Here are bluebell leaves, hazel, barren strawberries, lily-of-the-valley and sweet woodruff.”

It was enrolling in an evening printmaking class at Craven College, Skipton, in 2012, taught by Bridget Tempest, that reignited Graham's creativity and inspired the series of original linocut prints which she has worked on since.

Framed and unframed prints and cards are on sale and visitors can also see the Victorian bookpress she uses for printing. The exhibition continues until the end of May. The offices are open Monday to Friday, 8.30am-4.30pm. Admission to the exhibition is free.

Betsy Everett